This week, Easterling – a two-time All-Big Bend first-team guard for the Timberwolves – and the Auburn basketball team he is now a part of travel to San Diego, Calif., as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Regional.

The Tigers (25-7) take on No. 13 College of Charleston (26-7) in the first round Friday at 7:27 p.m. at San Diego State University. It’s the first trip to the NCAA Tournament for Auburn in 15 years.

And Easterling, a preferred walk-on, could get playing time if the starters handle business against a lower seed.

“It’s everybody’s goal, no matter the level,” Easterling told the Democrat in a phone interview. “If you’re the lowest D-1 level, you want to win your conference and get to the NCAA Tournament. That will be special even if we don’t make a run like we want to.”

Auburn celebrates its 79-70 win against South Carolina to capture an SEC regular-season title on March 3, 2018.(Photo: Brynn Anderson, AP)

This seemed an unlikely scenario two years ago when Easterling was wrapping up a senior year where he averaged 18.4 points per game for a sub-.500 Chiles team.

He’d played all year with a torn labrum in his right shoulder, so his 3-point shot was nowhere near what he expected. Two days after school ended, Easterling had shoulder surgery.

“I really wanted to get a D-1 offer, low to mid-major,” Easterling said. “I didn’t think I wanted to walk-on somewhere. My senior year wasn’t what I was expected because I was hurt and we switched coaches. Out of high school, I didn’t get those opportunities.”

Buy Photo

Chiles' Brett Easterling lays the ball up on West Florida High's Kalia Davis during a game at the Capital City Classic in 2015.(Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat)

Instead of walking on at a small Division I school or heading to a smaller division, Easterling decided to go the postgraduate route.

He’d learned from what former Maclay and FAMU DRS shooter J.T. Escobar had done, playing at Elev8 Prep in Delray Beach before going to Ole Miss and now the University of North Florida.

Escobar’s coach at the time was Chad Myers, who turned Elev8 into the No. 1 team in the country.

Buy Photo

Chiles' Brett Easterling lays the ball up past West Florida's Jamari Sharp during the 2015 Capital City Classic.(Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat)

After two years at Elev8, Myers returned to Massanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, Va., where he’d previously coached Frank Mason III, who later was the consensus national player of the year at Kansas and is now with the Sacramento Kings.

Easterling decided he’d go there.

“That year was harder than what we do now,” Easterling said. “Military school – had to wake up at 6 a.m. Everything was very regimented. We had a time schedule for everything. And the basketball, we were in the top 10 in the country all year. The biggest thing was competing against eight or nine D-1 players every day.”

Easterling didn’t play much and he was still healing from his shoulder surgery. Though he was in a drought, he said he didn’t get discouraged.

Towards the end of the season, he started to get a feel for things and was contributing six points per game. He had a breakout game against powerhouse Oak Hill Academy. That’s when more schools got on board.

“I was going to walk-on at Texas,” Easterling said. “Then in February (of 2017), I started to think about Auburn. Coach Myers contacted their coaches. It worked out from there.”

Buy Photo

Chiles head coach John Langlois takes Brett Easterling out of the game against West Florida at the 2015 Capital City Classic.(Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat)

Easterling became a preferred walk-on, meaning the coaches knew who he was and he had a good chance he was on the team, but he still had to go through a tryout with all the other walk-ons.

Buy Photo

Chiles' Brett Easterling and West Florida's Kentrell Jones battle for a rebound during the 2015 Capital City Classic.(Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat)

He could bomb the tryout and his dream could die.

The tryout was being run by Auburn legend Chuck Person, who has since been dismissed as part of the NCAA recruiting scandal plaguing programs across the country.

Easterling had played well over two days, and the final spot was cut to three players.

Person, who is Auburn's all-time leading scorer and was the 1987 NBA Rookie of the Year, pulled Easterling aside and said he’d been impressed with his shooting. But Easterling had to square off against the former Tigers marksman in a 3-point shooting contest to earn his spot.

“I made 10 of 10 and that was the end of it,” Easterling said. “He said, ‘Congratulations, you’re on the team.’

“It was relieving. What I had worked for was down to one moment and it worked out.”

Former Chiles star Brett Easterling plays in a game against UConn last December.(Photo: Dakota Sumpter/Auburn Athletics)

From the get-go, Easterling said Auburn’s team was a family. It has helped the Tigers overcome the loss of their top two players allegedly involved in the recruiting scandal, both of whom could be NBA draft picks.

It helped when prognosticators picked Auburn to finish ninth in the SEC. It helped when the Tigers lost their starting center to a broken leg two weeks ago, chopping the roster to eight scholarship players.

“The main reason for our success is how close we are as a team,” Easterling said. “There’s no arguments. Everyone’s playing for each other’s success. We’ve had a chip on our shoulder. They still doubt us and we have new reasons to prove them wrong.”

Auburn guard Mustapha Heron celebrates the Tigers' 79-70 win against South Carolina to capture an SEC regular-season title on March 3, 2018.(Photo: Brynn Anderson, AP)

Easterling has played a fair amount as a redshirt freshman walk-on. He scored his only two points of the season in a game last December against Winthrop – a special moment because his former Massanutten teammate Charles Falden was guarding him.

“You know it’s going to be an uphill battle the whole way getting in at a big D-1 school, power-5 conference,” Brett’s father Mark Easterling said. “Seeing him get in against Winthrop and score, get some time, it hits home that it’s all real.

“Playing in front of 9,000 people, you go from not-a-powerhouse in Chiles to a real power and a surprise this year. When we go to see him play whether he plays or not, it’s fun to see him in that atmosphere. It means a lot to him, it means a lot to us, too.”

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl cuts down the net as Auburn celebrates its 79-70 win against South Carolina to capture an SEC regular-season title on March 3, 2018.(Photo: The Associated Press)

Easterling has an academic scholarship to Auburn, where he’s studying engineering. Maybe one day he’ll start a game, maybe not.

He has no aspirations to go star somewhere else at a smaller school. He did that already at Chiles.

He’s having fun enjoying the bright lights, big crowds, and the winning feeling. That’s new to him and it doesn’t matter if he’s sitting on the bench soaking it all in.

Because he's also had games such as beating South Carolina at the end of the regular season to win an SEC Championship and subsequently get to help cut down the net.

“In that game, we got to play at the end,” Easterling said. “I got to dribble it out. That was just something I never really imagined would happen.”

Former Chiles player Brett Easterling plays against South Carolina during a game on March 3, 2018.(Photo: Cat Wofford/Auburn Athletics)

Where are they now?

Maurice Howard – The former Rickards guard, who was the 2015 All-Big Bend Co-Player of the Year, averaged 6.8 points per game in his first season at Alcorn State. As a sophomore this season, Howard set a school for 3-pointers made in a season, hitting 74. He finished with 15 points in the Braves’ season-ending loss in the SWAC Tournament, his 14th game in double figures during an 11-21 season.

Jahvaughn Powell – The former Lincoln point guard, who was a 2014 All-Big Bend first-team performer, went from TCC to Nicholls State. His career ended when No. 2 seed Nicholls State (21-11) was ousted in the Southland Conference Tournament semifinals. Powell, who averaged 9.9 points per game and was the Colonel’s team leader in steals, was named to the Southland All-Defensive team this season.

Quan Jackson – After redshirting last season at Georgia Southern, Jackson, a two-time All-Big Bend Player of the Year at Godby, became the Eagles’ sixth man this year, scoring 7.1 points per game off the bench. Georgia Southern (21-12) had its season end in the Sun Belt Conference semifinals to Georgia State. Jackson had 10 points, five rebounds and three steals in the loss.

Dwight Wilson – Playing as a true freshman this year for James Madison, last year’s All-Big Bend Player of the Year averaged 3.2 points per game. Wilson had a career-high 13 during a season in which he played in 24 of the Dukes’ 25 games. JMU (10-22) lost in the Colonial Athletic Association first round to Drexel.

Londell King – The 2015 All-Big Bend Defensive Player of the Year for Godby started 11 of 28 games for Morehead State, averaging 8.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He was named the Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week in December after back-to-back 17-point, 7-rebound games. King had 11 double-digit scoring games and seven with double-digit rebound games for the Eagles (8-21).

J.T. Escobar – The 2014 All-Big Bend Player of the Year while at FAMU DRS transferred after one season at Ole Miss (4.8 points per game in 2015-16) to the University of North Florida, where he averaged 11.5 points this past season. Escobar scored a career-high 28 against Florida Gulf Coast, then backed up that effort with 22 against No. 1 FGCU in the ASUN Tournament first round, though the Ospreys (14-19) saw their season end in the semifinal loss.

Michael Gilmore – The 2014 All-Big Bend first-team performer from Rickards transferred to Florida Gulf Coast after sitting out a year at Miami following a transfer from Virginia Commonwealth where he spent two years. Gilmore averaged 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds this season as the Eagles earned a No. 7 seed in the NIT after falling in the ASUN Tournament championship to Lipscomb.